A special two hour house this week. Picks up where last season left off, I had forgotten how absolutely heartbreaking the end of the last season was. Bravo for Fox for the replays leading up to this weeks show.

House is in the nut house and he *surprise* has a problem with authority.

He plays the usual house games, but his doctor (Andre Brauer) isn't having any of that shit.BTW, why isnt Andre Bruaer on a TV show? He's one of the finest actors of the past twenty five years, and besides Homicide, you barely see him.

ANYWAY. House decides to play divide and conquer with the patients. Those that can help him mess with the establishment, he befriends, everybody else he basically shits on and makes them feel worse.

House falls in (?) love with a woman who visits her sister, and even sleeps with her. Where's the management at this asylum?Pretty far fetched over all. But the ending, where House gets his freedom and we presume (until the previews for next week are shown) his license back.

Overall, I liked it, but it did feel a LOT rushed. I think they could have kept him there half the season and show his growth which was glanced over in two hours time.

Either way, it was good to see Greg back on the screen, and nice to see some humility from him.

The Lovely Mrs. Tracker was happy to see Andre because she's a fan of "The Mist."

The episode surprised me by not featuring one (confirmed) hallucination. No Kutner. No Amber. This is what proved to him he needed help. The detox sequence was nicely done, but I needed more connection between his addiction and his emotional flaws. He's not in Mayfield becuase he's a jerk. He's there because his brain is a mess. He already knew he needed help; that's why Wilson drove him to Mayfield.

Also, they gently and quickly brushed aside his leg pain -- the reason for his addiction -- by saying the hospital gave him a different pill. It's too slick an answer from a show that gave House a secret brain surgery without his permission to temporaril numb the pain.

The equation of House for a long time is that he needs his pain to stay detached to be a great doctor. We've been here before with House; he's almost lost patients because he tried to be happy, and he regressed. I'm curious to see what happens now and if it makes sense for the character.

The venerable Dr. Zim pointed out in the beginning of the show that the drug addiction was a direct analogy to Sherlock Holmes' opiate addiction, and that in much the same way when House is very involved in a case, he doesn't need the drugs the same way he does in his normal life.

Originally posted by LiseThe venerable Dr. Zim pointed out in the beginning of the show that the drug addiction was a direct analogy to Sherlock Holmes' opiate addiction, and that in much the same way when House is very involved in a case, he doesn't need the drugs the same way he does in his normal life.

If they're keeping him off the drugs, that in itself is a major change. His pill popping is a major character trait.

I believe Vegas set the line at 3.5 Other Lives Changed For The Better. Congrats to those who took the over!

ALTERNATE JOKE:

I think Hugh Laurie keeps getting nominated for awards mostly because it's a miracle he's able to get as much as he does out of the awful cliche-ridden scripts. That was one overacting lead away from being a horrible two hours.

Woman hasn't spoken, hasn't done more than slightly move for years, but give her back her music box and she's playing the cello like nothing's happened!

SECOND ALTERNATE JOKE:

and, to think, all these years, I thought I was better of outside a mental institution. Look all the fun I could've been having - easily manipulated people, free run of the place, and convenient day passes to take your new friend to a hotel.

THIRD ALTERNATE JOKE:

So is that how WWE drug tests work? Explains so much. When the rule says "we have to watch you", I think they mean actually watching, bad doctor guy.

Some of the plots for Cleveland this season have been REALLY bizarre and this is one of those really dumb premises that wouldn't have made a C-level Family Guy episode. So clearly, Cleveland going deaf didn't do anything for me.